Door-operating device



June 11, l929- L.. F. scHQELKoPF DOOR OPERATING DEVICE sv Smets-sneekINVENTOR.

A TTORNEYS June l1, 1929.

' L. F. SCHOELKOPF DOOR OPERATING DEVICE Filed Jan. 13, 1927 5Sheets-Sheet vll/(Av1.

6 IN VEN TOR.

TORNEYS June l1,` 1929. L. Fl scHoELKoPF 1.716.707

DOOR OPERATING DEVICE Filed Jan. 13, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR.

BY www@ A TTORNEYS.

Patented June 11, 1929.

i UiTEn STATES LOUIS` F. SCH'OEIVKOPF, OF MADISON, WISCONSIN.

DOOR-OPERATING DEVICE.

Application led January 13, 1927. Serial No. 160,885.

This invention relates to improvements in door operating devices.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a dooroperating device having a remote control which may be easily operated toopen or close the doors..

A further object of the invention is to provide a door operating devicewhich is ac- 'tuated pneumatically and mechanically, and is controlledelectrically fiomvone or more remote points.

A further object of the invention isto provide a door operating devicein which approximately one-half of the door opening or closing operationis actuated by means of compressed air, while the remaining hall' or theoperation. is actuated by a .spring means which is initially put undertension by the compressed air. s

A further object of the invention is to provide a door operating. devicewhich, while operating to open or close the door automatically, does notprevent the manual opening or closing of the door when desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide a door operating device'with an oil check to cushion the opening and closingr of the door andto prevent the door slamming.

A further object of the invention is to provide a door operating devicein which the air control mechanism, electromagnets, etc., are located inthe base portion of the device instead of forming a separate unit.

A further objectof the invention is to provide a door operating devicewhich may be used for other purposes than for opening and closingdoors.

A further object of the invention is to provide a door operating devicewhich is of simple constrifction, is strong and durable and is welladapted for the purpose described.

Vith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of theimproved door operating device and its parts and combinations assetforth in the claims, and all equivalcuts thereof. y

In the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference charactersindicate the saine parts in kall of the views:

Fig. 1 is a top view of a pair of door operating devices shownrconnectedto a pair of hinged doors andthe door frame, the view Fig. 3is a horizontal sectional view ofV one of the devices and a door on alarger scale, the door being shown in closed position;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view'similar to Fig. 3, with the doorswung to a halfopen position;

Fig. 5 is a top detail view of a portion of one ofthe devices, partsbeing shown in section to illustrate interior construction;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional detail view on a larger scale taken online 7 7 of Fig. G;

Fig. 8 is a sectional detail view of the bell crank lever pivotalconnection; and

Fig. 9 is a sectional detail view of the oil cylinder and piston.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 8 indicates a door frame havingtwo inwardly swinging hinged doors 9 of ordinary construction. Theimproved operating devices l() are mounted on the door frame above thedoors and have parts connected to the doors, and as both devices aresimilar in construction except that parts aie reversed to `form rightand left hand openers, a descriptionl of one opener will su'liice. Eachdevice comprises an angular bracket or main frame 11 having elongatedslots 11 and bolts 12 for adjustably mounting the bracket frame 11 uponthe door frame 8. A twopart lever arm 13 pivotally connected at itsinner end to the bracket frame extends outwardly therefrom, and at itsouter end is pivotally connected to the outer end of a two-part link 14,and the inner end `of said link is pivotally connected to a bracketmember 15 which is bolted to the door 9. The outer endiportion of thelever arm 13 is formed wit i an arm 1G projecting approximately at.rightangles therefrom, and to the outer end of this arm a piston rod 17is pivotally connected. The inner end of then piston rod carries apiston 18 which recipro- 'cates in a cylinder 19 alinedy with the rod17,

and said cylinder at its inner end is pivotally connected to the bracketframe 11 bya tubu-v lar pivot sleeve 20. The two parts ofthe Cil leverarm 13 are adjustably connected together by the bolt and slottedconnection 21, while the two parts ot the link 14k are adjustablyconnected togetherI by the bolt and aperture connection 22 to tit doorswhich vary in swing and position.

The tubular sleeve 2O is connected to a valved air supply tube 23 andthe pivot sleeve 2O is provided with a transverse air port2f-1 extendingfrom the bore of` the sleeve to the end oit the cylinder to supply airunder pressure thereto from the supply of the sleeve Q0 at itsintersection with the ports 2st and engages the'valve seat 2G to closeoit the air to the cylinder, and a coiled spring QT yieldingly holds thevalve up to its seat, and the lower end of the spring bears upon one endportion of a bell crank lever 28 which is pivotally` connected to vthebracket frame 11. The tubular sleeve 2.0 is also provided with anothervalve seat 2.1) engaged by the ball valve 25 to close olii the exhaustportion Q0 of the sleeve while air is being admitted to the cylinder 19.This second valve seat is formed by a removable inner sleeve 30extending into the bore of the tubular sleeve 20. As thus arranged, andwhen the bell crank lever is swung downwardly to release pressure on thecoiled spring, the pressure of the air will move the ball valvedownwardly to the seat Q9 and close the exhaust bore while air isadmitted into the cylinder, and as soon as the bell crank lever is movedupwardly to increase the pressure on the spring, the ball valve will bemoved upwardly to its other seat to close the supply and open theexhaust to the cylinder.

r1`he other arm 31 of the bell crank lever 28 is Yformed with a socketinto which extends the end portion of a screw or bolt to form a looseconnection therebetween. The screw is carried by one end portion oi? anangular link 34 which at its opposite end is pivotally connected to themedial portion of a trip lever The socket end portion ot the bell cranklever 28 extends into a U-shaped or recessed end portion 34; of the link3a to prevent the lever from disengaging the end of the screw 33 whilemaintaining the parts loosely connected to prevent the parts binding inturning. r1`he opposite end ot the trip lever 35 is arranged to snapunder the edge ot the armature 3G ot an electromagnet 37 mounted on ytheframe 11. The electromagnet is controlled by a remotely positionedswitch 38 connected to a battery 39 by wires 40. The trip lever 35 isnormally held in engagement with the edge of the armature, as clearlyshown in Figs. 5 and 6, and when in said position tension is placed uponthe spring 27 to cause it to close' the valve 25 against the pressure ofthe air. Then the magnet armature releases 'the trip lever, the coiledspring 27 will torce said lever to the position shown in Fig. 3.

A spring 41 connected to the magnets, and extending around the armature,limits the outward swing of said armatore.

To retard the outward swing of the trip lever 35 and to prevent rebound,a screw 492 extends through the main frame 11 and is threaded through amedial portion 35 ot the trip lever, and the head ft2 of the screw isclamped in adjusted position by a plate L13 engaged by a clamping screw11. rilho plate engages the head and when the screw is tightened thescrew will be maintained in adjusted position. In adjusting the screw112, the side portion ot the lever drawn close to the side ol the trameso that as the screw, serves as the tdcrum of the lever, the upwardswing of the lever will cause the lever to move laterally by the threadand bind against the side ot the trame and thus prevent rebound and stopthe outward movement oit the lever. 1n moving inwardly or to armatureengaging position, the thread will cause the lever to move away from theside portion of the -frame and be free to s ving inwardly to ar matureengaging position. By adjusting the screw ft2 to position the trip levernearer to or farther from the side portion ot the frame, the trip levermay be retarded Vand stopped at any desired point.

The compressed air when a'dmitted'to the cylinder will force the lever13 and the link 14 outwardly and swing the door from a closed positionto a halt-open position or from an open position to a haltsclosedposition, while another means now about to be explained completes theopening or closing movement.

A bell crank lever positioned alongside of and tulcrumed on the'hnb ot'the lever arm 13 which surrounds the pin 46, is

formed with a long arm 15 and a short arm 4:7. The long arm 45 extendstowards the trip lever 35 and at its inner end is provided with aprojecting pin L1&5 which is pivotally connected by a link 119 to thetrip lever 255, so that when the lever arm 13 is swung outwardly, thetrip lever will be swung inw wardly to engage the inner edge ot' thearmature 36, as shown in Fig. 5. The formation of the pivotal connectionbetween the pin L18 and the link 49 is in the form of a slot and pinconnection `to permit indei'iendent inward movement of the bell cranklever t To provide for adjusting the period of return of the trip leverto armature engaging position, a small bell crank lever 50 is pivotallymounted on the hub of the lever arm 13 between the lever arm 13 and thebell crank lever 4:5, and is formed with an angular portion whichprojects inthe vpath of movement oi the short arm` 47 of the lever 45.This bell crank lever 50 is formed with a segmental slot 51 forreceiving a bolt 52 ywhich extends through the slot and is threaded intothe lever arm 13 to adjustably connect the said small bell cranklever 50to said lever arm. As thus arranged the trip lever 34 may be swunginwardly to engage the inner edge of the armature at any point ot' themovement of the lever arm 13 by clamping the small bell crank lever 50to the `said lever arm 13 at the point desired.

As before mentioned, compressed air in the cylinder 19 will swing thedoor to slightly less than half open or haltI closed position, and themomentum of the movement will swung the door over the dead center line,and in order to complete the opening or closing operation, a cylinder 53pivotally connected at its inner end to the frame 11 by the pivot pin 54extends outwardly therefrom, and carries a tubular piston rod 55 whichis pivotally connected at its outer end to part 16 of the lever arm 13by pivot pins 56, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. A piston 57 positionedwithin the cylinder 53 and surrounding the inner headed end 58 of thepiston rod 55 has al loose connection with said rod. The headed end 58lits into the sleeve portion 57 of the piston and is formed withhexagonal sidesl to provide spaces between the head and the sleeve oithe piston, and the sleeve portion is provided with collars 59 spaced ashort distance from the head to permit a slight independentreciprocation of vthe piston rod and head.. The collars 59 have openings59 to permit oil to flow therethrough and the spaces between the head 58and the piston sleeve 57 permit oil to How therebetween. The bore G0 ofthe piston rod extends through the head of said rod and isintersected bya transverse bore (il leading to the periphery of the head. A ball valveG2 positioned at the intersection of the bores GO and 61 controls theflow of oil through the piston head bore by means of a valve rod 63which extends through the bore 60 from the ball valve G2 to the outerend of the piston rod 55 and is provided with a threaded head 611 forconvenience'in adjusting' the rod to limit the movement of the ballvalve away from its seat. The piston 57 is also provided with a vbore 57which is in alinementwith the outward movement of the piston rod and`head will be away from the piston, and

this movement willropen the space between the piston and the rod headand permit the oilV to freelyrtlow through the openings 59 and betweenthe periphery of the head and the piston and through the piston bore 57"After this one-sixteenth movement, the rod head 58 engages the innercollar 59 and pulls the piston 57 outwardly to the outward end of thestroke. kOn the return stroke, the piston rod head moves inwardlyVone-sixteenth of an inch and closes the side flow of the oil from thepiston bore 57, so as to give the desired resistance to mot-ioninwardly. After this independent movement ot' the piston rod and head,the piston is moved inwardly by the head, and the oil between the pistonandthe inner end of the cylinder will flow through the bore 57 and theportion of the bore 60 controlled by the ball valve 62, and then throughthe trans- ',verse bore G1 and between the periphery of the rod head andthe piston sleeve, and then through the collar openings 59l` into theouter end portion of the cylinder. In moving inwardly, the speed ofVtravel of the piston is controlled by the adjustment of the ball valveby the valve rod 63.

A coiled spring 65 positioned within the cylinder 53 and surrounding thetubular piston rod and interposed between the piston and the outer endof the cylinder is adapted to complete the remaining half movement oi'the swing of the door towards open or closed position.

Assuming that the door is to be opened, the switch 38 is closedsuiiiciently long to complete the circuit to the magnets and release thearmature,- which will through the intermediary of the parts described,opent-he compressed air valve to the air cylinder and cause its pistonto move olutwardfly and swing the door to slightly less than half openposition. In thus moving to said position, the spring 65 will becompressed by the outward movement of the piston 57. As soon as the doorreaches this half position, the trip lever 35 will be moved inwardly toclose the compressed air valve and to again engage the inner edge of thearmature. The momentum'of the half swing of the door will carry it bythe dead center line and the spring 65 will exert its pressure to swingthe door to open position. To close the door, the switch. is againclosed to release the trip latchand permit the compressed air to enterthe cylinder 19 and actuate the piston to swing the door toapproximately a halt-closed position, and at this point the trip latchis released to close the air valve.

In swinging to the half-way position, the spring in the cylinder' 53 isagain compressed, and when the door swings over the dead center line bymomentum, the spring will exert its pressureto continue the movement andcompletely close the door, with the parts in position to be againoperated to open the door.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the fluid pressuremeans is used to swing the door from a closed or open position to ahalt' open or closed position, and Athat in each instance a spring`means is used to complete the movement in either` direction.

For the Work performed, the levice is of very simple construction and iswell adapted lor the purpose described.

liv/That l' claim as my invention is:

l. llhe combination with a door and its iframe, ot a. means lieropeningl and closing; the door, comprising a bracket member connected tothe iframe, a lever arm pivotally connected at one end to the bracket, alink member pivotally connected at one end 'to the door and at its otherend to a medial portion o'j the lever arm, a cylinder' pivotallyconnected to the bracket, a piston Within the cylinder and having a rodwhich is pivotally connected to theouter end portion of the lever armfor moving the door approxi.- mately one-half ot its movement towardsopen or closed position, an electromagnetic means carried by the bracketand controlled from a distant point for controlling the 'llow olipressure tluid to the cylinder, an oil c vlindcr pivotally connected atits inner end to the bracket, a piston Within the cylinder and having abore, a piston rod pivotally connected to the lever arm and extending'into the 'cylinder and having a head on its inner end which movablyextends into the piston and serves as a valve to partly close the boreot the piston, said head having a bore closed by a check valve, and acoiled spring Within the oil cylinder and surrounding` the piston rodfor moving the piston inwardly to complete the opening' or the closing'movement oiE the door in the direction in V\vh ich it is moving'.

Q. '.he combination with a door and its iframe, oit a means for openingland closing" the door, comprisingl a bracket member' connected to theiii-ame, a lever arm pivotally connected at one end to the bracket, alink member pivotally connected at one end to the door and at its otherend to a medial portion of the lever arm, a cylinder pivotally connectedto the bracket, a piston within the cylinder and having a rod which ispivotally connected to the lever arm for moving` the door approximatelyone-half of its movement towards open or closed position, an.

electromagnetic means carried by the bracket and controlled trom adistant point for controlling' the flow of pressure fluid to thecylinder, an oil cylinder pivotally connected at its inner end to thebracket, a piston Within the cylinder and having a bore, a piston rodpivotally connected to the lever arm and extending into the cylinder andhaving` a head on its inner end which movably extends into the pistonand serves as a valve to partly close the bore of the piston, lsaid headhaving` a bore closed by a check valve, means controlling the movemento1 said check 'valve to open position, and a coiled spring' Within theoil cylinder aL d surromiding the piston rod iter moving;` the pistoninwardly to complete the opening' or the closing movement of the door inthe direction in which it is moving.

3. The combination with a door and its frame, of a means for opening andclosing` the door, comprising a bracket member connected to the `frame,a lever arm pivotally connected at one end to the bracket, a link memberpivotally connected to the door and to the lever arm, a cylinderpivotally connected to the bracket, a piston Within the cylinder' andhaving a rod which is pivotally connected to thel lever arm 'for' movingthe door approximately one-halt' of its movement towards open or closedposition, an electroimlgnetic means carried by the bracket andcontrolled trom a distance point. for controlling' the flow of pressurefluid to the cylinder, an oil cylinder pivotally connected at its innerend to the bracket, a piston Within the cylinder and having a bore, apiston rod pivotally connected to the lever arm and extending into thecylinder and having` a head on it,n inner end which movably extends intothe piston and serves as a valve to partly close the bore ot the piston,said head havine' a bore closed by a check valve, a valve rod engagingthe check valve and extending` through the piston rod and having a partin threaded engagement with the piston rod to adjust the movement Iofsaid valve to open position, and a coiled spring` Within the oilcylinder and surrounding the piston rod for moving' the piston inwardlyto complete the opening or the closing` movement of the door in thedirection in which it is moving.

Ll. The combination Witha door and its trame, of a means for opening`and closing the door, comprising a bracket member connected to theframe, a lever arm pivotally connected at one end to the bracket, a linkmember pivotally connected to the door and to the lever arm, a cylinderpivotally connected to the bracket, a piston Wit-hin the cylinder andhaving' a rod which is pivotally connected to the lever arm for movingthe door approximately one-halt of its move- Y ment towards open orclosed position, an electromagnetic means carried bythe bracket andcontrolled from a distant point' for controlling the flow of pressureliuid to the cylinder, an oil cylinder pivotally connected at its innerend to the bracket, a piston Within the cylinder and having` a bore, apiston rod pivotally connected to the lever arm and extending into thecylinder and having a head on its inner end which movably extends intothe piston and serves as a valve to partly close the bore et thecylinder, said head having a bore closed by a check valve, said headalso having a transverse bore which intersects the first mentioned boreadjacent the cheek valve to permit the liow of oil through the bores ofthe piston and the head and the transverse bore to the opposite side ofthe piston when the piston is moving inwardly, a valve rod engaging thechech valve and extending through the piston rod and having a part inthreaded engagement with the piston rod to adjust the movement of saidvalve to open position, and a coiled spring within the oil cylinder andsurrounding the piston rod for moving the piston inwardly to. completethe opening or the closing movement of the door in the direction inwhich it is moving.

5. The combination with a door and its frame, of a means :tor openingand closing the door, comprising a bracket member connected to theframe, a lever arm pivotally connected at one end to the bracket andhaving a projecting portion, a link member pivotally connected to thedoor and to the lever arm, a'cylinder pivotally connected to the bracketby a tubular pivotal connection through which air under pressure issupplied to the cylinder, a. valve Within said pivotal connection forcoitrolling the flow of air to the cylinder, a bell crankV leveryieldingly controlling the valve, an electromagnetic means carried bythe bracket and having a remote control and an armature, a trip leverreleasably engaging the armature and pivotally connected to the bellcrank lever, a threaded member forming the pivotal connection of thetrip member to move the trip member laterally into braking engagementwith the bracket to retard the movement ot said trip lever, a pistonwithin the cylinder' and having its rod connected to the projection oithe lever arm, an oil cylinder pivotally connected to the bracket, apiston withinthe oil cylinder and having a sleeve and a central bore, apiston rod pivotally connected to the projection of the lever arm andextending into the oil cylinder and having headed end which reciprocallyengages the piston sleeve and also moves said piston, said headed endalso serving as a valve to partly close the bore ot the piston and alsohaving longitudinal and transverse bores, a valve controlling saidlongitudinal bore, a rod extending through the eil cylinder piston redand engaging the valve, the outer end of the valve rod having a threadedengagement with the piston rod to adjust the opening ot said valve, anda coiled spring surrounding the oil cylinder piston rod and interposedbetween the piston and the outer end portion of the oil cylinder.

6. The combination with a door and its frame, of ameans for opening andclosing the door, comprising a bracket member connected to the frame, alever arm pivotally connected at one end to the bracket and having aprojecting portion, a link member pivotally connected to the door and tothe lever' arm, a cylinder pivotally connected to the bracket by atubular pivotal connection through which air under pressure is suppliedto the cylinder', a valve within said pivotal connection forcont-rolling the flow of air to the cylinder, a bell crank leveryieldingly controlling the valve, an electromagnetic means carried bythe bracket and having a remote control and an armature, a trip leverreleasably engaging the armature and pivotally connected to the bellcrank lever, a threaded member forming the pivotal connection of thetrip member to move the'trip member laterally into braking engagementwith the bracket to retard the movement et said trip lever, a bell cranklever engaged by the lever arm for returning the trip lever to itsarmature engaging position, a piston within the cylinder and having itsrod connected to the projection of the lever arm, an oil cylinderpivotally connected to the bracket, a piston within the oil cylinder andhaving a sleeve and a central bore, a piston rod pivotally connected tothe projection of the lever arm and extending into the oil cylinder andhaving a headed end which reciproca-ily engages the piston sleeve andalso moves said piston, said headed end. also serving as a valve topartly close the bere ot the piston and also having longitudinal andtransverse bores, a valve controlling said longitudinal bore, a rodextending through the oil cylinder piston rod and engaging the valve,the outer end of the valve rod having a threaded engagement with thepiston rod to adjust the opening oi said valve, and a coiled springsurrounding the oil cylinder piston rod and interposed between thepist-on and the outer end portion of the oil cylinder.

7. The combination with a door and its frame, of a means for opening andclosing the door, comprising a bracket member connected to the trame, alever arm pivotally connected at one end to the bracket, a link memberpivotally connected to the door and to the lever arm, a cylinderpivotally connected to the bracket, a piston within the cylinder andhaving a rod which is pivotally connected to the lever arm for movingthe door approximately one-half of' its movement towards open or closedposition, an electro magnetic means carried by the bracket andcontrolled from a distant point for controlling the flow of 'pressureiiuid to the cylinder, means moved by the lever arm for setting thepressure fluid means in operative position, and a yielding meansconnected to the bracket and to the lever arm and put under tension bythe pressure 'Huid tor completing* the opening or closing movement ofthe door in the direction in which it is moving.

8, A door operating' device, comprising a bracket, a lever arm pivotallyconnect-ed at one end to the bracket, a link member pivota ly connectedto a medial portion of the lever arm and having means for pivotalconnection with a door, a fluid pressure means connected to the leverarm and to the outer end portion of the bracket for moving the lever arma certain distance, electromagnetic means carried by the bracket forcontrolling the tlow of tluid pressure to the fluid pressure means, anda yielding` means connected to the brack t and to a medial portion otthe lever arm and put under tension by the fluid pressure means forcompleting` the movement of the lever arm in the direction it is moving.

9. A door operating,- device, comprising a bracket, a lever armpivotally connected at one end to the bracket, a link member pivotallyconnected to a medial portion of the lever arm and havingmeans torpivotal connection with a door, a l'luid pressure mea-ns connected tothe lever arm and to `the outer end portion et the bracket for movingthe lever arm a certain distance, electromagnetic means carried by thebracket for controllingthe flow of fluid pressure to the l'luid presnsure means, means actuated by the lever arm for setting` the pressurefluid means in operative relation to the electromagnetic means7 and ayielding means connected to the bracket and to the lever arm and putunder tension by the fluid pressure means for completing the movementot' the lever arm inthe direction it is moving.

l0. A trip lever brake and stop means for a door operating device,ctnnprisinga support, a screw member carried by the support, and a triplever threaded on the screw and turnable thereon to rictionally engagethe side portion of the support carrying the screw to retard and stopthe movement of vthe trip lever at a predetermined point.

ll. A trip lever brake and stop means for a door operating device,comprisingY a support, a screw member revolubly adjustably carried bythe support, means for holding the screw member in adjusted position,and a trip lever having,- a threaded t'ulcrum engagement with the screwmember, said threaded engagement causiirg` the lever when turned to movelaterally on the screw member and impinge against the side portion oitthe screw support to 'retard and stop the turning` movement of the triplever.

In testimony whereof, l allix my signature.

LOUIS F. SCHOELKOPF.

